$192 Million In Funding For Recycling & Advanced Battery Development

United States Of America – On June 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $192 million in funding for recycling batteries from consumer products, creating an advanced battery research and development consortium (R&D), and the continuation of the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize.

The increased demand for electric vehicles and stationary energy storage is anticipated to increase the lithium battery market 10 times as many by 2030. Therefore, it is crucial for the U.S. to invest in sustainable, reduced-cost recycling of consumer batteries to stabilize and secure a resilient and circular domestic supply chain for such materials.

The goal of the Biden-Harris administration is to have electric vehicles constitute half of America’s total vehicle sales by 2030. Nearly $3 billion from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for EV and battery technologies has previously been instated.

“The United States is leading the way in developing advanced battery technologies that will power our clean energy future and boost our global competitiveness,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm says. “These investments in battery production and recycling will ensure the U.S. has a secure and sustainable domestic supply chain and strengthens our economy.”

As of April 2023, over 3.6 million plug-in electric vehicles have been purchased in the U.S. Half of the sales took place during President Biden’s time in office. The costs of batteries have decreased by more than 90% since 2008 with energy density and performance increasing.

The Biden-Harris administration’s investment is expected to create a manufacturing and innovation boom which will build a clean-energy economy combating climate change.

The DOE’s $125 million Consumer Electronics Battery Recycling, Reprocessing, and Battery Collection is part of the $7 billion authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to increase and secure America’s battery supply chain.

Funding will be funneled to develop and implement education and behavior-change campaigns which would increase participation in battery recycling programs and improve the economics of recycling consumer electronic batteries to spur greater market demand for battery recycling. Investment’s will further be utilized to assist states and local governments in creating or enhancing battery collection, recycling, and reprocessing programs. Retailers will be encouraged to establish programs to collect, store, sort, and transport consumer electronic batteries.

Projects selected for this funding must advance diversity, inclusion, equity, and accessibility; contribute to energy equity; and invest in America’s workforce. Funding will be administered by the Vehicle Technologies Office and the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains. Goals of the funding are detailed in the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries’ National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries. Concept papers are due August 17, 2023, and the deadline for completed applications is November 29, 2023.

The growth of EV manufacturing will require innovative new solutions for the challenges associated with raw and critical material shortage and cost. Research and development are critical to lower costs and transition to the use of more abundant materials.

The Advanced Battery R&D Consortium funding will provide up to $60 million to convene major manufactures of electric vehicles in the U.S., universities, National Laboratory partners, mineral and material suppliers, and key battery stakeholders to address critical battery needs with the expansion of EV’s. The consortium is anticipated to advance battery R&D which is responsive to the needs of EV manufactures.

The consortium is additionally seeking to develop a domestic battery supply chain and further the recycling capabilities. The consortium will help aid the DOE’s efforts to establish advanced transportation technologies which would reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil.

The Battery Recycling Prize first began in January 2019 and has awarded, to date, $5.5 million for innovation solutions to collecting, sorting, storing, and transporting spent and discarded lithium-ion batteries. The DOE has now announced a $7.4 million fund for a new Breakthrough Contest, as well as Phase IV of the Prize.

The Breakthrough Contest will incentivize the development of solutions which meet the Battery Recycling Prize Goal. Industry entrepreneurs and new competitors and eligible to participate and support the Phase III winning teams.

Phase IV: Demonstration of Impact, will challenge participants to prove the effectiveness of the solutions.

The Battery Recycling Prize incentivizes entrepreneurs to produce and demonstrate technologies which have the potential to capture 90% of all discarded and spent lithium-based batteries in the United States.

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